A Return to Constitutional Federalism
10th Amendment Task Force Founded by Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT)
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
-10th Amendment to the United States Constitution
Task Force Mission
Disperse power from Washington and restore the constitutional balance of power through liberty-enhancing federalism
Task Force Goals
1. Educate Congress and the public about federalism
2. Develop proposals to disperse power to regional entities, states, local governments, private institutions, community groups, families and individuals
3. Elevate federalism as a core Republican focus
4. Monitor threats to 10th Amendment principles
5. Help build and foster a federalist constituency
The Problem
Since 1995 alone, the federal government has issued nearly 60,000 new rules governing everything from the size of the holes in Swiss cheese to what colors are allowed for surgical stitches.
Federal spending surpassed $100 billion for the first time in 1962. In 2010 federal spending will surpass $3.5 trillion.
The nation's complete capitulation in allowing and expecting the federal government to solve every problem facing society is a disaster.
Most politicians only add to the mess by promising to solve every problem with further expansion and expense of the federal government – passing the financial burden on to the taxpayer.
Centralized power and one-size-fits-all solutions from Washington bureaucrats contribute to the sense of powerlessness and frustration among Americans who find their lives controlled by a government that is out of reach and out of touch.
The federal government has grown arrogant, power-hungry, and abusive of the rights of the people.
While the Founders did intend for the national government to exercise some important power, these powers were intentionally limited in number and scope. Most powers were reserved to the states, or more important, the American people.
Today, most politicians make promises and grapple with the nation's problems without even acknowledging the best and most obvious approach to confront the nation's challenges: restore balanced federalism so that Washington no longer has to be the world’s problem solver.
America is tired of top-down mandates from federal bureaucrats in Washington. They are ready for bottom-up government, with buy-in from citizens.
The 21st Century: The New Age of Federalism
Americans have proven that they want real change, not similar policies under different leadership-unfortunately, that is largely what they’ve gotten.
The American people want real choice and a real vision for a better government, which the 10th Amendment Task Force seeks to provide through common sense reforms that will result in a fundamental overhaul of Washington.
The only way to bring about this change is federalism.
The term “federalism” is foreign to many people. Yet, most Americans care about the things that federalism brings without even knowing it: choice, options, flexibility, and freedom.
Leaders in Washington need to show the American people that we have a comprehensive plan that doesn’t impose a certain ideology or party platform on them. Instead, we need to tell them that decisions should be made locally, by individuals living in our communities, not by politicians in Washington.
Federalism is not a concept of either the right or the left. It is neither a Republican nor a Democrat idea.
Decentralization and community empowerment can be a worthy goal of both the left and the right. Both sides have something to gain under a federalist revival.
Federalism gives people choice and options. It is the mechanism by which power can be returned to the people.
This is not yesterday’s states’ rights arguments. It’s much bigger than that. This is about better governance. This is about adjusting modern politics to modern life. This is about breaking up big, inefficient, unresponsive government and returning power to the people.
What the 10th Amendment Task Force Will Do
The 10th Amendment Task Force will develop and promote proposals that will disperse power, decision-making, and money from Washington back to states, local governments, and individuals. Policymakers need a concrete, achievable agenda if they are to reinvigorate American federalism. That agenda is precisely what the 10th Amendment Task Force will provide.
The genius of the Founding Fathers lies in the fact that they did not attempt to box the nation into a single standard or code of living. They understood that flexibility and creativity would be needed to quell the rise of regional factionalism. The 10th Amendment Task Force seeks to re-educate all Members of this.
Federalism presents the most efficient way to govern a society and an economy because it allocates government responsibility and power according to which level of government is best suited to a particular task. Bringing decisions and participation closer to local communities is vital to restoring Americans’ faith and confidence in their government and the political process.
A large percentage of the arguments and a leading cause of partisan gridlock in Washington is due to the fact that we try to use the federal government to impose one national standard. In reality, a single, national solution to most political problems rarely exists.
One-size-fits-all centralized planning stifles the innovative decision-making and experimentation that often are needed to devise workable solutions to political problems.
This nation is too great, too broad, and too diverse for one set of ideas to rule from sea to sea. California is not Kansas. Alabama is not Alaska. And Massachusetts is not Utah.
Just as corporations have decentralized their decision-making, just as mass markets have fragmented, just as diversifying subgroups of the population make increasingly diverse demands, so must government decentralize decision-making. Devolution is an inevitable trend that makes government consistent with the increasingly decentralized economy and society.
In a nutshell, federalism is the best system because it brings government closer to the people, it nurtures civic virtue, it protects liberty, it takes advantage of local information, it stimulates policy innovation, and it alleviates political tensions. In other words, federalism was the Founder’s original formula for freedom and good government.
Additional Information:
10th Amendment Task Force website
Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT) Makes Statement about the Task Force
